After 11 years of service, Sgt. 1st Class Patterson, also a San Antonio native and operations NCO for the U.S. Army Special Operations Headquarters, decided to re-enlist indefinite status in the U.S. Army.

This is the younger Patterson’s third re-enlistment. He initially enlisted in the Army on Aug. 17, 1997, as a flight operations specialist. He is currently stationed at Joint Base Balad and wanted his older brother to render the oath to him.

“It’s great to have my older brother re-enlist me, just as he has been there over the years from my promotions to my NCO induction ceremony,” said the noncommissioned Patterson.

Both brothers have a history of supporting each other in Army traditions such as when Capt. Patterson first became a commissioned officer. His younger brother, then a specialist, pinned on his 2nd lieutenant bars and was also the first to salute him as an officer after his graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1999.

Patterson stated his older brother has been there to pin him to sergeant, staff sergeant, and sergeant first class while he‘s been able to pin every commissioned rank his older brother has earned. He hopes he gets an opportunity to pin him to major.

Neither of the Patterson brothers is new to deployment. Both have deployed three times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since the initial invasion in 2003.

“There is no better organization in the world than the United States Army. No other organization will let you keep your brother in the same organization and pay him for it,” said the elder Patterson.

After the ceremony the brothers went on a tour of Victory Base Complex and the 297th company area.

Capt. Peter Patterson, a San Antonio native and the commander of the 297th Inland Cargo Transfer Company, 553rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, re-enlists his younger brother, Sgt. 1st Class Andre Patterson, also a San Antonio native, and operations noncommissioned officer for the U.S. Army Special Operations Headquarters, during a ceremony Aug. 17, 2008 at Al Faw Palace in Baghdad, Iraq.